Parliament approved on Tuesday the extension sought by President Abdulla Yameen, but it was passed without the constitutionally required quorum of 43 lawmakers.
The prosecutor general, Aishath Bisham, had told police in a letter the state of emergency was unconstitutional, two senior officials of the prosecutor general’s office told Reuters.
“The prosecutor general said that she believed the vote was unconstitutional and as a result the state of emergency is also unconstitutional,” one official said.
“She did not ask the police to release the state of emergency arrestees, but she said that she could not see any legal basis for keeping them under arrest.”
When parliament approved the extension of emergency, the ruling party legislators also sought a Supreme Court opinion through a resolution on the approval without the quorum.
The Supreme Court later on Tuesday issued a temporary stay, asking all state institutions to follow the state of emergency declaration until it deliberated on a resolution submitted to the court by the parliament.
The resolution raised questions about the legality of the vote to
extend the state of emergency.
Ahmed Mahloof, an opposition spokesperson, said the president was forcing the police to keep the people arrested in detention, despite the
prosecutor general’s letter.
“The chief justice and a judge of the court are detained illegally,” Mahloof told reporters. “The Supreme Court can’t deliberate without the chief justice. They can’t even use the seal of the court without the permission of the chief justice.”
Under the emergency, Yameen’s administration has arrested the chief justice, another Supreme Court judge and former president Maumoon Gayoom on allegations of attempting to overthrow the
government.
Though Yameen has ignored the court rulings, he has stopped short of saying he will not obey them. He has, however, fired two police chiefs who said they would uphold the rulings, and he continues to jail opposition members.
The US has urged Maldives to end a state of emergency that has been in place in the country since the beginning of February, IANS reports from Washington.
“The US is disappointed with President Abdulla Yameen’s decision on Tuesday to extend the state of emergency, that was imposed on February 5 – for another 30 days,” the state
department said in a statement.
Washington also urged Yameen to “uphold the rule of law, permit full and proper functioning of the parliament and the judiciary, and restore constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people of
Maldives”.
The Maldivian president was also urged to respect his country’s commitment to international
human rights obligations.
India deeply dismayed: India yesterday expressed deep dismay at the Maldives parliament extending the state of emergency in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation by 30 days.
“We are deeply dismayed that the government of Maldives has extended the state of emergency for a further 30 days,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
“The manner in which the extension of the state of emergency was approved by the Majlis in contravention of the constitution of Maldives is also a matter of concern,” it stated.
It said that the consequent delay in the resumption of the political process and the continuing suspension of the functioning of democratic institutions, including the judiciary, “is likely to further delay restoration
of normalcy in Maldives”.
“It is important to ensure that all democratic institutions are allowed to function in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with the constitution,”
the statement said.
According to one of the two statements issued late on Tuesday by President Yameen’s office, the country’s parliament approved “to extend the state of emergency by an additional 30 days in so far as it shall only apply to those alleged to have carried out illegal activities – it shall not apply to otherwise law abiding residents of, or visitors to the Maldives”.
The new state of emergency will end on March 22.
